THE NUMBER of cars travelling by ferry to Arran has almost doubled since cheaper fares were introduced last year.

The Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) scheme brought ferry journeys in line with the cost of travelling the same distance by road and has led to sharp drops in many fares around Scotland.

RET was rolled out on the Arran route last year after being extended to Islay, Colonsay and Gigha in 2012, following its introduction in the Western Isles, Coll and Tiree in 2008.

A Transport Scotland study published on Monday revealed the cheaper fares have encouraged more people on to the services - with provisional figures for Arran showing a 44 per cent increase in cars since the cost of a return car journey fell from £70 to £29.70.

Passengers on the Arran ferries were up by 10% to since the scheme began in October 2014.

The report found summer fares on Islay, Colonsay and Gigha routes fell by an average of 44 per cent and 48 per cent for passengers and cars respectively with the introduction of RET.

During the first two years of the scheme, passenger numbers on these three routes increased by 8 per cent and car numbers went up by 18 per cent.

An extra 6,444 people visited Islay in the second year of the scheme, which has now been extended to all Clyde and Hebridean ferries.

Transport and Islands Minister Derek Mackay said: "RET is designed to help promote our islands by reducing the cost of ferry travel, making them more attractive to visitors and helping boost local economies in remote areas.

"Not only does this reduce the economic disadvantage faced by these communities, but it also enables the islands to make a bigger contribution to Scotland's economic prosperity."

He said he expected to see increased passengers and car numbers across all Clyde and Hebridean ferry services in the coming months with the first summer of RET across the network.

The discount initially applied to lorries but was removed from commercial vehicles longer than six metres in 2012.

Hauliers have campaigned to have RET reinstated and Transport Scotland said it is currently reviewing commercial vehicle and freight fares.